NJ politicos on Christie aide fired over Bridgegate: She’s always followed the chain of command

posted at 11:21 am on January 14, 2014 by Allahpundit

Inconclusive but interesting as a breadcrumb to tide us over until Bridget Kelly ends up in front of a microphone. I read the NYT piece about five minutes after watching Christie-friendly Democrat Mika Brzezinski, whose show has had him on as a guest many times, say, “we know Chris Christie and we know that he would have known.” (Scarborough disagreed.) Given the rap on Christie for petty slights towards pols who’ve crossed him and the comparative surprise among Kelly’s acquaintances that she would have spearheaded something like Bridgegate herself, I’m more eager than ever for her to sit down in front of that microphone.

Although I really don’t know why. If it happens at a state legislative hearing, she’s bound to take the Fifth, no?

[F]riends, Trenton operatives and people who have recently been in touch with Ms. Kelly said that the portrait of her that had emerged — as a vengeful rogue operative — did not square with the woman they knew. And while they were careful not to discuss with her what happened, let alone ask why, they said that her actions were highly uncharacteristic for someone who had always been a loyal soldier, but never a rule-breaker…

At first glance, nothing about Ms. Kelly’s life — not her strict Catholic upbringing; her close-knit extended family; her decision to send her children to the same Catholic schools she attended in her hometown, Ramsey; or her fierce loyalty to her political mentors — would suggest anything but a dutiful, behind-the-scenes role player.

“She follows the chain of command,” said a friend who, like nearly everyone contacted for this story, insisted on anonymity to avoid being caught up in the continuing investigations. “She’s not a cowboy.”…

Even now, after Mr. Christie’s denunciation of her, friends of Ms. Kelly said she sounded as devoted to him as ever.

It says “at first glance” because the article goes on to cite other Jersey pols who say Kelly seemed to change once she made Christie’s inner circle, becoming more “brusque” and insular and seemingly enjoying the payback she was dishing out. Peggy Noonan spitballed the same possibility in her column the other day: Give a low-ranking political hack a taste of real power and there’s no telling how they’ll behave. Some might revert to acting the way they think they’re supposed to act from having watched too many movies about hardball politics. But in a way, that brings us full circle. If Kelly was building a reputation for bareknuckle politics, how come the governor supposedly didn’t know about it? Was Kelly buzzed on power in her new role or was it, as Christie’s critics suggest, a culture of bullying rivals in the governor’s office that led her to think closing lanes on the bridge was okay? Kelly as fierce loyalist and as power-tripping enforcer aren’t mutually exclusive narratives; on the contrary, the more loyal she is, the more Christie could have trusted her to quarterback something like Bridgegate knowing that she wouldn’t roll over on him even if they got caught and he had to scapegoat her. It sounds from the NYT piece, in fact, like she won’t point the finger at him no matter what. That’s smart practice for someone who works in politics professionally but frustrating for the rest of us who want to know the truth.

Tangentially, I wonder if the beating Christie’s taking from his pals in the media lately will nudge him back to the right a bit before 2016. There have been lots of comparisons this week to how the media turned on McCain, another Republican they seemingly loved until he got in their way to the White House, but McCain didn’t learn his lesson about the limits of bipartisanship until the 2008 campaign itself. Christie’s learning early. If he was planning on carrying his brand as a nominally Republican but functionally independent centrist into battle in 2016 thinking that the media would carry him on their shoulders, it’s time for a change of plan. He can still be the centrist he is, but framing himself as an enemy of the media would help him a little with grassroots righties — not enough to win their votes in the primary but maybe enough to get them to turn out for him in the general if he’s the nominee.

I can’t stand Christie, so the ONLY thing that bothers me about this story is the news media’s obsession with burying Christie and their “What, me worry?” attitude and non-coverage of the far more serious (and numerous) Obama scandals.

Inconclusive but interesting as a breadcrumb to tide us over until Bridget Kelly ends up in front of a microphone.

You need to get out more.

Given the rap on Christie for petty slights towards pols who’ve crossed him and the comparative surprise among Kelly’s acquaintances that she would have spearheaded something like Bridgegate herself, I’m more eager than ever for her to sit down in front of that microphone.

Seriously, get out and see the rest of the world. Stop being so gullible. Maybe The Fat Man ordered this, maybe he didn’t, but stop being such a naive fool and see this NYT article for what it really is: A sly attempt to implicate The Michelin Man without any evidence.

He can still be the centrist he is, but framing himself as an enemy of the media would help him a little with grassroots righties — not enough to win their votes in the primary but maybe enough to get them to turn out for him in the general if he’s the nominee.

Don’t count on it.

Chris Christie the “old fashioned, muscular(lol), masculine” NJ Governor hiding behind a girl. I’ll wait and see what more pops up. My hunch is that CC does this crap all the time and there are more examples the libbies in the media can, and will, find.

If he was planning on carrying his brand as a nominally Republican but functionally independent centrist into battle in 2016 thinking that the media would carry him on their shoulders, it’s time for a change of plan.

If Christie or any other future Republican candidate EVER thinks that, they are admitting their stupidity and have no business running.

“Bridge it” Kelly is clearly the designated scapegoat in the “nuts and sluts” strategy being used for damage control. No matter the truth about Bridgeghazi, she’s going to be painted as the petty vindictive staffer who plotted spiteful revenge on political rivals. It really boils down to one of two possibilities. Christie is a bully and/or he has no executive abilities.

Yeah, Christie’s tacit or explicit consent is responsible for this. But why are we obsessing with the ultra-liberal NJ “Republican” gov? You know, to win in NJ as a R you have to be essentially a Dem, and as can be expected, up and down the line, Christie sides with the Democrats. Some suggest that maybe he’d be a better candidate against a Dem in 2016, that’s bs because there would be such a huge “missing white vote” with Christie that the Dem would walk away with it.

And even if we he won the presidency, it would be worse for us than if a Dem won because we’d have a super lib in office that would get partnerships of Rs & Ds to pass AMNESTY, liberal Obamacare “fixes,” probably gun control, and other liberal programs. No, Christie is bad news for us.

Oh, yes, and who knows what Christie would do with the EPA and cap & trade (look at the cap & trade that the “Republican” Schwarzenegger rammed through in California) as he’s even more of a leftist on climate change than John Kerry, see a two minute video of Christie bloviating on how he is smarter than the rest of us Republicans on climate change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPxDnb2-aVI&ii=ChristieClimateChange

Never believed Christie would get the nomination anyway, but whomever we choose will be under the microscope 24/7 by the media. It’s gonna be really ugly….If a squeaky clean candidate like Romney gets sliced and diced imagine what Rand Paul will get. Or Ted Cruz. Or Scott Walker… You get my point…

Socons think if they push Christie out if the way, a socon automatically moves into frontrunner position for 2016.

Moesart on January 14, 2014 at 11:33 AM

I think if we push a bully out of the way, we might nominate someone who isn’t a bully. I think if we push an islamophile out of the way, we might nominate someone who isn’t. If we push a gun grabber out of the way, we might nominate someone who respects the 2nd amendment. Clear as mud, Butch?

Well the next squirrel just got dropped. A felony search warrant has been served on Justin Beiber. That’ll keep the LIVs entertained until Honey Boo Boo’s new season begins. And, of course, away from Dance Moms because a mean bully yelling at people and acting out of spite is a little too close to what the fat man did.

Tangentially, I wonder if the beating Christie’s taking from his pals in the media lately will nudge him back to the right a bit before 2016. There have been lots of comparisons this week to how the media turned on McCain, another Republican they seemingly loved until he got in their way to the White House, but McCain didn’t learn his lesson about the limits of bipartisanship until the 2008 campaign itself. Christie’s learning early.

Frankly this is a lesson that all of the GOP needs to learn…yesterday.

They need to understand, simply because they are not progressive-leftists, the largely progressive-leftist media will be treating them entirely differently than those pols who are advocating the agenda, vision, and ideology so many bankrupt media sycophants embrace.

No matter how much they ‘go along to get along’, unless they fully embrace the progressive agenda, when it serves their purposes at election time or in the appearances of a ‘scandal’, the media will do all it can to discredit, defame, and defeat them.

And it will not matter how friendly the media might appear to be when there is no election or divisive issue or scandal – the majority will not be your friend.

GOP pols need to act with full knowledge that the LSM is not there to help you get your message out. They also need to know that the LSM will report the lies, misdirects, and half-truths of progressive politicians as verified facts – just as much of the media is doing today with the lying partisan toady, Frank Pallone’s, claims of Christie’s malfeasance regarding an advert touting the Jersey shore in the wake of Sandy.

I suspect that McCain has a different idea of what bipartisan means than rational human beings.

Happy Nomad on January 14, 2014 at 11:49 AM

I think you might also be giving McStain too much credit. He just likes the attention and has no clue what any of this means. Whenever the NYT writes something positive about him he goes into Sally Field mode and starts twirling in front of a mirror saying “You like me. You really like me.”

I’ve made this statement in different venues, but can’t get an answer:

I think the closing of traffic lanes in New Jersey for political reasons was a petty, spiteful, mean-spirited action that was harmful to the citizens of that state, and any other travelers on that road.

Can somebody explain the difference between that and the closing and barricading of the National Monuments and Parks by the Obama Administration?

I’ve made this statement in different venues, but can’t get an answer:

I think the closing of traffic lanes in New Jersey for political reasons was a petty, spiteful, mean-spirited action that was harmful to the citizens of that state, and any other travelers on that road.

Can somebody explain the difference between that and the closing and barricading of the National Monuments and Parks by the Obama Administration?

questionmark on January 14, 2014 at 12:31 PM

Yeah. Christie calls himself conservative, and so does most of the GOP electorate.

ObamaChristie has set up an atmosphere that is conducive to this kind of behavior. The IRSstaff members didn’t have to be told explicitly to do this but in doing it, they believed that their leader would be completely supportive.

“It’s something he would have done…”

Christie will not turn away from the love he craves. Just like the french Republicans, he will do all he can to get back into the media’s good graces.

Not a big Christie fan, but the media is starting jump the shark on this story.

cww on January 14, 2014 at 11:25 AM

Christie flat out sucks, but the very idea this is a “scandal” at all is jumping the shark. It’s stupid in every way and I can’t for the life of me figure out why HotAir cares so much.

Spliff Menendez on January 14, 2014 at 12:16 PM

Christie is a Jck*ss and should not be the R nominee and this is a scandal ,especially for those that live in the NJ/NYC area and use the bridge , but the amount of national media attention is getting insane. I’d be happy to get regular updates but I don’t see the reason for the constant stream of Christie articles.

He didn’t let American’s die and then blame it on a video. He didn’t use the IRS to target his enemies. He didn’t give killers truckloads of guns to use on 100s of Mexicans and at least 1 American. He didn’t lie about surveillance of NJ phone calls. He didn’t destroy healthcare based on a series of lies. He didn’t send troops to war when he didn’t believe in the mission.

But Christie should be disqualified from higher office if he allowed his top staff to run an extortion racket form the Govs office. That’s just common sense.

Christie is a Jck*ss and should not be the R nominee and this is a scandal ,especially for those that live in the NJ/NYC area and use the bridge , but the amount of national media attention is getting insane. I’d be happy to get regular updates but I don’t see the reason for the constant stream of Christie articles.

The MSM have pretty much crowned Christie the 2016 GOP nominee, and they obviously think he is a formidable opponent for Queen Hillary, so this is just what they see as the opening salvo of the campaign. They can’t caricature him as a rich out-of-touch plutocrat or a far-right misogynist. so we get He’s A Bully!!1!!1!1!!!!!! ad nauseam.

He didn’t let American’s die and then blame it on a video. He didn’t use the IRS to target his enemies. He didn’t give killers truckloads of guns to use on 100s of Mexicans and at least 1 American. He didn’t lie about surveillance of NJ phone calls. He didn’t destroy healthcare based on a series of lies. He didn’t send troops to war when he didn’t believe in the mission.

All true. But this isn’t about Obama, it’s about Christie vs. Clinton in 2016. We atre never going to get anywhere whining about the unfair magnification of this scandal vs. any of Obama’s.

But Christie should be disqualified from higher office if he allowed his top staff to run an extortion racket form the Govs office. That’s just common sense.

The very fact that someone has to question Christie’s strategy in terms of running as a… “nominal Republican” but a functioning independent” should be enough to mount a major campaign by conservatives to discredit this RINO pig!

He didn’t let American’s die and then blame it on a video. He didn’t use the IRS to target his enemies. He didn’t give killers truckloads of guns to use on 100s of Mexicans and at least 1 American. He didn’t lie about surveillance of NJ phone calls. He didn’t destroy healthcare based on a series of lies. He didn’t send troops to war when he didn’t believe in the mission.

All true. But this isn’t about Obama, it’s about Christie vs. Clinton in 2016. We atre never going to get anywhere whining about the unfair magnification of this scandal vs. any of Obama’s.

rockmom on January 14, 2014 at 1:26 PM

Maybe or maybe not. The double standard in all this “investigative journalism” might be the 1 thing we can get the LIV to understand. After the CC biz blows over maybe people will demand the same treatment for the ONE. Barak the magic Liar still has 3 years left so…

After reading all these posts, it is obvious that the right wing conservatives are as full of hate and vitriol as their progressive left wing liberal brothers and sisters. Like the Democrat and Republican parties, I cannot see any difference between them. They’re both lying partisan hypocrites.

f he was planning on carrying his brand as a nominally Republican but functionally independent centrist into battle in 2016 thinking that the media would carry him on their shoulders, it’s time for a change of planhe’s an idiot.

Video is out this morning: Crispy meeting face to face with the one of the main characters on the THIRD DAY of the FOUR DAY FIASCO. Face to face. Only a complete moron could ever argue at this point that Crispy had no idea.

Enough talk from Crispy, he needs to go ASAP and let us all get back to real issues facing the country: F&F, Benghazi, IRS, HusseinCare, executive order over-reach, etc. At this point Crispy is just running interference for Hussein and Co. Just like one of their own.